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A connecting flight in Qatar. A wee-hours Uber ride from KC. Kenya runner wins Lincoln Marathon after interesting journey to Lincoln

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Lincoln Marathon 5.1

The men’s marathon winner Alex Ekesa crosses the finish line with a final time of 2:28:16.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Clark Grell

Alex Ekesa ran a 26.2-mile race Sunday, taking on the warming temperatures and wind gusts that came with it.

Turns out, that was the easy part to his weekend.

Due to days of multiple travel issues, the 38-year-old runner from Kenya didn’t arrive in Lincoln until 4 a.m. Sunday. He didn’t have time to sleep — only time to shower and meditate — and barely enough time to pick up his bib number.

After injury and pandemic, Omaha native returns to Lincoln Marathon to paint winning picture in women’s race

But less than 5½ hours after finally getting to his hotel, there was Ekesa making the turn onto the track at Ed Weir Stadium for the final yards of the 44th Lincoln Marathon. He won it in 2 hours, 28 minutes and 16 seconds.

“I just feel grateful and thankful,” Ekesa said. “My gratitude first goes to (the Lincoln Marathon organizers and volunteers) for actually making all the difference, making sure this marathon takes place and is a success. To see everyone attend and participate in this race, that excites me a lot.”

Ekesa was nearly a nonparticipant in this year’s race.

“It was very interesting,” he said.

Ekesa was booked to fly out of Kenya earlier in the week, but he was unable to fly through Europe as originally planned. He turned around from the airport and had to look for a new strategy, Ekesa said. He was able to line up a flight that took him to Qatar and then Dallas. After a long layover in Dallas he landed at Kansas City International Airport at 1 a.m. Sunday, six hours ahead of the race start. The problem, however, was he didn’t have a way to get to Lincoln. But he found an Uber driver willing to make the three-hour drive and the 38-year-old runner arrived in Lincoln at 4 a.m.

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He showered, then laid in his bed for a few moments.

“Did some meditation,” Ekesa said. “By the time I was done, it was time for the race.”

The lack of sleep didn’t faze him. Nor did he panic.

“I wasn’t worried at all,” he said when asked if he thought he might not arrive in time to race. “If by chance I was worried, I don’t think I’d make it here. But I believed in myself that no matter what happens I must get here, and I got here.”

Ekesa, running in his first Lincoln Marathon, got out in front with the top half-marathon runners and then was all by himself for the final 13.1 miles as it started to warm up. The only negative part of the day was the wind, he said.

Peter Falcon (Maple Grove, Minnesota), 31, placed second in 2:29:07, and Omaha’s Brett Rosauer, 30, finished in third at 2:29:39.

Ekesa said he was aiming for 2:17:00 (his career-best time is in the 2:26:00 range), which would have earned him some extra prize money, “but having go through all this somehow, I felt my efforts were actually for that time (2:28:00).”

Ekesa was one of three Kenya natives to win Sunday. Dominic Korir won the men’s half-marathon and Iveen Chepkemoi won the women’s half marathon.

Ekesa, who plans to return to the states for a half-marathon in Utah in July, didn’t show much fatigue after the race. He sat down in the infield grass at Ed Weir Stadium to stretch and rest for about 20 minutes, then did interviews. He was very much looking forward to returning to his hotel room to rest.

He’ll leave Lincoln with a first-place prize and a story to tell.

“I just said, OK, all of this happened … for a reason, so I could motivate someone else that no matter what happens to you, no matter what happens in life, it’s making you greater, stronger,” Ekesa said.

Photos: Runners take on Lincoln Marathon

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

The first batch of runners take off from the starting line early in the morning during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

A runner gives two thumbs up as they cross the finish line after completing the half marathon during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Friends and family watch from behind the fences of Ed Weir Stadium as runners reach the finish line during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

The women’s half-marathon winner, Colorado native Iveen Chepkemoi, tries to catch her breath at the finish line during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Runners speed down Vine Street during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

The men’s half-marathon winner, 27- year-old Colorado native Dominic Korir, crosses the finish line with a record setting time of 1:03:45 during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon medals sit on a table by the finish line Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

The men’s marathon winner Alex Ekesa crosses the finish line with a final time of 2:28:16.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Runners take off from the starting line during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Marathon runner

Marathon runner

Courtesy photo

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln resident Kevin Ricky wears a gas mask as he walks wit his son Austin Ricky (bottom right) during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Runners make their way down Vine street on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Runners are lit by early morning light as they make their way down Vine street during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Omaha native Alexander Haddad smiles as he sprints to the finish line at Ed Weir Stadium during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Elkhorn resident Cailan Franz (left) celebrates with Britt Sherer from Overland Park, Kansas, as they cross the finish line at Ed Weir Stadium on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Garden City, Kansas, native Brandon Mumgaard crosses the finish line at Ed Weir Stadium on Sunday while pushing two children in a stroller.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Bennington native Barb Knott hugs Melanie Kuenning as they cross the finish line at Ed Weir Stadium on Sunday during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Omaha resident Andrew Hubbard, 38, raises his hands and points to the sky in victory as he nears the finish line at Ed Weir Stadium during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Columbus resident Angela Luebbe (left) supports her friend Sharon Soltero after finishing a half-marathon during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Elkhorn resident Ellie Clinch high fives Brooke Ballou from Sacramento, California, after they both completed the half-marathon Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Cortney McLaughlin, a 29-year-old from Colorado Springs, smiles and poses for the camera after crossing the finish line at Ed Weir Stadium during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln resident Mari Wheeler (center) is helped up by others as she collapses at the finish line after finishing the half-marathon Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Gretna resident Jeff Spilinek, 49, strikes a pose after completing the the half-marathon Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Bennington resident Summer Fahnholz carries her American flag over the finish line after completing the half-marathon Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon

Lincoln Marathon

Courtesy photo

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Omaha natives Samar Willits (left) and Zeina Renno celebrate as they near the finish line after completing the half marathon Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Friends and family watch from behind the fences of Ed Weir Stadium as runners reach the finish line during the 2021 Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Longmont, Colorado, resident Grace Njeri crosses the finish line after completing the half marathon Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Women’s marathon winner Amy Delong (left), gets a hug from her boyfriend Mason Frank after she crossed the finish line at Ed Weir Stadium with a final time of 3:01:36 during the Lincoln Marathon on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Lincoln Marathon 5.1

Women’s marathon winner Amy Delong, a 29-year-old from Denver, raises her arms in victory as she crosses the finish line at Ed Weir Stadium on Sunday.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star

Lincoln Marathon

Lincoln Marathon

Courtesy photo

Lincoln Marathon

Lincoln Marathon

Courtesy photo

Lincoln Marathon

Lincoln Marathon

Courtesy photo

Reach Clark Grell at 402-473-2639 or cgrell@journalstar.com. On Twitter at @LJSSportsGrell.

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